11:30 a.m.: Daniel Ellsberg speaks, with testamonies by American, Swedish and Norwegian whistleblowers in front of the Parliament (Stortinget). The group will be met by the parliament's President at 11:35 a.m. and other parliamentarians. Singer/songwriter Moddi (Pal Moddi Knutsen).

William Binney will engage in a discussion with radio host Tony Stiles (http://www.tonystiles.com/) and others as to what we can do to remedy the problem. Come hear this timely discussion given that the metadata collection provision in the Patriot Act---that has been unanimously held by the 2nd Circuit to be illegal as secretly interpreted---sunsets on June 1st!

Arranged by The Right Livelihood Award Foundation (www.righlivelihood.org) and the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation together with the support organisation in the Swedish Parliament for the Right Livelihood Award (often called the 'Alternative Nobel Prize').

Civil Rights Defenders and Svenska PEN invites you to a seminar where Thomas Drake, Daniel Ellsberg, and Jesselyn Radack will talk about the importance of whistle blowers, how they are treated and what states and the international community need to do to improve their protection.

On the current waves of surveillance, censorship, the erosion of civil rights and the need for political control of intelligence services

How have these times of mass surveillance, data espionage and cooperation between the BND and NSA altered our established understanding of democracy? How was the NSA scandal perceived in the United States and in Germany and what can – and must – we learn from it? These questions will be discussed by the prominent U.S. whistleblowers Thomas Drake, Daniel Ellsberg, Jesselyn Radack and Coleen Rowley with Konstantin von Notz, Martina Renner (both in the NSAUA), Joseph Foschepoth, German historian and Peter Schaar, former Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information. The round of talks will be opened by the economist, peace activist and former military analyst Daniel Ellsberg and the former FBI agent Coleen Rowley, along with introductory remarks by the American journalist and Editorial board member of ExposeFacts.org, Norman Solomon.

The discussion will be moderated by Sarah Harrison, journalist and director of the Courage Foundation. A Q & A session is scheduled for after the panel discussion. During the exchange, the public is invited to take part in the discussion by sending in their questions or comments on Twitter using the hashtag #­­­­qvdemocracy.

In cooperation with the Courage Foundation, ExposeFacts.org, DIE ZEIT, ZEIT Online and Transmediale.

The event will be simultaneously translated from English to German and vice versa.

Fri 2 March 2018

18:00 – 20:00 GMT

Birkbeck, University of London

Malet Street, London, WC1A 7HX, United Kingdom

15 years ago, Katharine Gun leaked a GCHQ memo revealing US spying operations on UN security council members. This simple act of bravery helped to galvanise the mass movement of opposition to the Iraq War. It also served as a telling reminder of the essential role played by the press in speaking truth to power and upholding the fabric of democratic life. A generation on, the legacy of that leak is writ large in a resurgent politics of resistance to the warfare and surveillance state on both sides of the Atlantic. This unique event brings together a panel, including Katharine herself, to discuss the lessons of that leak, and ask: What can and should we be doing - journalists, scholars, activists, citizens, policymakers - to do justice to the immeasurable public service performed by whistleblowers?